Report No 9

Part 8 - GRP Process Plant Piping

This report is concerned with adhesively bonded glass reinforced epoxy composite piping used in a desulphurisation plant. The pipes are joined together using filled cold curing epoxy. The bonded areas are surface abraded for increased interactions with the epoxy.

Examination of a section of pipe that leaked after six months in service (using ultrasonic, mechanical and microscopic techniques) revealed that the failure occurred within the composite tube, rather than at the joint. Subjecting the joint to mechanical testing resulted in a failure at the interface between the adhesive and the pipe fitting.

The report recommends careful surface preparation for the adherends in order to achieve bond strength in the field comparable or near to that achievable in the laboratory.



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